The Cupertino Courier
Cover Story
Bridging the Gap
Saniku students receive traditional Japanese education
By Tiffany Carney
Instead of going home after school, children who attend Japanese school get ready for their second dose of education--in Japanese.
Saniku Gakuim Japanese School, located in West San Jose, offers a traditional Japanese education to Japanese students living in the Bay Area, in addition to their daily American schooling.
The school caters to Japanese-speaking children whose families moved to the United States from Japan. At Saniku, students learn Japanese culture, history, math and science, all taught in the Japanese language. In addition to standard Japanese academics, life lessons are also taught within the classroom walls.
A growing need
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Japanese computer companies established offices in what is now known as the Silicon Valley. As more businesses moved to the area, so did their employees, says Eiichi Yoshida, principal of Saniku.
Japanese parents were concerned their children would not have a Japanese education and fall behind in school if they moved back to Japan.
Pastor Timothy Iwahashi and Yuma Tsuchiya saw the need for a school to teach Japanese academics, culture and language.
In 1982, the school opened at Mountain View Japanese Seventh-day Adventist Church with only four students and teacher Kazuko Iwamoto. Before moving to the United States, Iwamoto was an experienced teacher and principal in Japan.
She spent four years in building the curriculum before moving back to Japan.
"Without her, we would not be here today," says Yoshida, also from Japan.
The school now operates on a lease with 13 full-time teachers and 405 students at the former Latimer Elementary School campus in the Moreland School District.
Currently the school offers kindergarten through ninth grade and hopes to expand to include high school in the coming years.
After 25 years in operation, Yoshida can't help but boast, "We have quite a good reputation in the Japanese community."
Science, math and more
Ayaka Ito, 19, moved to the United States when she was 6 years old and her parents enrolled her in Saniku to keep in touch with her Japanese roots.
Ito, who graduated in 2003, now attends UC-Irvine and still keeps in touch with the friends she met at the school because they share a similar background.
Eighth-grader Heidi Maekawa, 14, says, "Some kids who just come from Japan feel at home at Saniku because there is no language barrier."
When students first start school in the United States, some have trouble communicating in English. Saniku provides an outlet where students make friends with those who speak their language and share similar experiences, Yoshida says.
"The students who recently came over from Japan have a place to express their feelings," he adds.
Yoshida says the toughest part for students and teachers is squeezing a full year of curriculum into 80 days of teaching.
"We basically learn all the stuff they learn in Japanese school in one week, but we learn it in two days," Ito says.
The tuition-based private school offers classes two days per week, either Mondays and Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays for three hours per day.
Because the curriculum is so compressed, a lot of the material is reviewed using homework. Heidi says the toughest part was keeping up with homework from both schools.
"We try not to make it too stressful," says Yoshida, but the school strives to offer an education equivalent to that given in Japan.
"There were times that I really wanted to quit," says Ito, but looking back, she says she wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
She values the education she received and one day hopes to use her bilingual and cultural knowledge to have a career with an international component.
According to Yoshida, the school is a mission school and a Japanese school.
"We are teaching the Bible, Japanese, math, science and social studies," Yoshida says.
Ito says that a common misconception is that Saniku teaches only the Japanese language, but in reality the entire Japanese curriculum is taught.
In Japan, schools receive their books from the education department, but in San Jose, Saniku receives its books from the Japanese Embassy in San Francisco. The school is able to use the same tests and textbooks that are currently used in Japan.
Although electives or extracurricular activities are not offered, the school holds four events per year to get parents, teachers and students involved.
Two of the events include a sports day and a fall festival that allows students to bond outside of the classroom.
Location is key
At one time Saniku operated out of Sunnyvale, which was centrally located for Japanese students from Sunnyvale, Cupertino and West San Jose, Yoshida says.
The school then moved to Santa Clara, but the school's enrollment suffered as 100 students did not return to the new campus.
In 2006, it found a home at Latimer and hoped it would be a long-term solution.
"We are gradually regaining our students," says Yoshida, adding that another move could cause another dip in enrollment.
The Moreland School District has also made changes since the closure of Latimer. Currently Discovery Charter School, a parent participation school, is sharing the Anderson Village Elementary School campus. Discovery recently put in a request for facilities to obtain another campus of its own.
Its first choice is the Latimer Elementary School; but the Moreland board of trustees will make its offer of facilities in April.
If the district chooses Latimer for Discovery, Saniku will get the boot. Yoshida says the school has no plans to move just yet, but can only hope the decision will not affect its campus.
Lessons in life
With the help of Saniku, Ito says she was able to learn about her home country.
"If you go back to Japan anytime during your life, it will help you out," Ito says.
Yoshida's children also attend the school. He hopes that one day they will be able to communicate with their family members living in Japan.
"It is nice for them to know their heritage," including language and culture, Yoshida says.
Yoshida also hopes that one day his children will be able to bridge the communication gap between the United States and Japan.
"It is a lot of work, but in the end it pays off," Ito says.
Saniku is located at 4250 Latimer Ave. in West San Jose. For more information, call 408.378.8190.